Four More charged With Filing False Applications for Superstorm Sandy Relief Funds

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Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino today announced that the Attorney General’s Office and its state and federal partners have charged four new defendants with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy, bringing the total number of such defendants charged by the office since March 2014 to 104.

“It’s despicable that over 100 people saw fit to resort to fraud in the face of a historic disaster, allegedly stealing funds intended for those who were hardest hit,” said Attorney General Porrino. “At the same time, we’re heartened by the many who stepped up to help others and we’re proud of our historic collaborative efforts to fight fraud, which have recovered millions of dollars and sent an unmistakable message that those who commit this type of fraud will face serious criminal charges.”

The 104 people charged by the Attorney General’s Office were allegedly responsible for diverting over $6 million in relief funds. The office is continuing its aggressive efforts to investigate fraud in Sandy relief programs, working jointly with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), and the Offices of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Also assisting the taskforce is the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller, New Jersey Department of the Treasury Office of Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the non-profit National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).

The defendants are alleged, in most cases, to have filed fraudulent applications for relief funds offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In many cases, they also applied for funds from a Sandy relief program funded by HUD, low-interest disaster loans from the SBA, or funds from HHS. The HUD funds are administered in New Jersey by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and the HHS funds are administered by the New Jersey Department of Human Services.

The following four defendants were charged yesterday by complaint-summons:

▪ Janyn Pettyjohn, 57, of Washington, D.C./Palm Coast, Fla., allegedly filed fraudulent applications following Superstorm Sandy for FEMA assistance, a low-interest SBA disaster-relief loan, and state grants under the Homeowner Resettlement Program (RSP) and the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program. As a result, she received a total of approximately $243,226 in relief funds. It is alleged that Pettyjohn falsely claimed in her applications that a home she owns on Kearny Avenue in Seaside Heights, N.J., which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, was her primary residence at the time Sandy struck. It is alleged that, in fact, her primary residence was in Washington, D.C., and the home in Seaside Heights was an investment/rental property. As a result of the alleged fraudulent applications, Pettyjohn received $5,090 from FEMA, $126,600 in SBA loan proceeds, $101,536 in RREM grant funds, and a $10,000 RSP grant. Pettyjohn is charged with second-degree theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn falsification.

▪ Robert Zachok, 53, of Toms River, N.J., allegedly filed fraudulent applications following Superstorm Sandy for state grants under the Homeowner Resettlement Program (RSP), the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program, and the Sandy Homeowner and Renter Assistance Program (SHRAP). As a result, he allegedly received approximately $158,525 in relief funds to which he was not entitled. Zachok allegedly falsely claimed in his applications that a home he owns on East Barnegat Way in Lavallette, N.J., which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, was his primary residence when Sandy struck. It is alleged that, in fact, his primary residence at the time of the storm was in Toms River and the home in Lavallette was a rental property. As a result of the alleged false applications, Zachok received a $10,000 RSP grant, RREM grant funds totaling $131,492, and $7,033 in SHRAP funds. Zachok is charged with second-degree theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn falsification.

▪ William E. Thompson, 57, of Lavallette, N.J., allegedly filed fraudulent applications following Superstorm Sandy for FEMA assistance and state grants under the Homeowner Resettlement Program (RSP) and the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program. As a result, he allegedly received approximately $41,448 in relief funds to which he was not entitled. Thompson allegedly falsely claimed in his applications that a home he owns on Sailfish Way in Lavallette, N.J., which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, was his primary residence when Sandy struck. It is alleged that, in fact, his primary residence at the time of the storm was in Asbury Park, N.J., and the home in Lavallette was a vacation property. As a result of the alleged fraudulent applications, Thompson received $5,090 from FEMA, a $10,000 RSP grant, and $26,398 in RREM grant funds. Thompson is charged with third-degree theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn falsification.

▪ Carmen Martinez, 57, of Atlantic City, N.J., allegedly filed fraudulent applications following Superstorm Sandy for FEMA assistance and state grants under the Homeowner Resettlement Program (RSP) and the Sandy Homeowner and Renter Assistance Program (SHRAP). As a result, she allegedly received approximately $34,090 in relief funds to which she was not entitled. Martinez allegedly falsely claimed in her applications that a home she owned on North Iowa Avenue in Atlantic City, which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, was her primary residence when Sandy struck. It is alleged that, in fact, her primary residence at the time of the storm was in Galloway Township, N.J., and the home on North Iowa Avenue in Atlantic City was a rental property. As a result of the alleged fraudulent applications, Martinez received $9,090 from FEMA, a $10,000 RSP grant, and $15,000 in SHRAP funds. Martinez is charged with third-degree theft by deception and fourth-degree unsworn falsification.

“Our collaborative efforts to target Sandy relief fraud have been highly productive, as evidenced by the 104 defendants we’ve charged,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “The payoff from this anti-fraud program is not only the millions of dollars we are recovering, but also the deterrent message we send. Thanks to these efforts, relief administrators in future disasters may be able to spend less time policing fraud and more time focusing exclusively on the vital task of aiding victims.”

“DCA has been committed from day one of the Sandy recovery effort to ensuring that recovery funds get to Sandy survivors who legitimately qualify for assistance,” said DCA Commissioner Charles A. Richman. “As part of our charge to be good stewards of public funds, we have and will continue to vigilantly report to the proper authorities those individuals who seek to misuse Sandy recovery funds.”

The new cases were investigated by detectives of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and special agents and inspectors of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, HUD Office of Inspector General, SBA Office of Inspector General, HHS Office of Inspector General and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The National Insurance Crime Bureau assisted. Deputy Attorneys General Denise Grugan, Supriya Prasad, William Conlow and Derek Miller are prosecuting the new defendants under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General Michael A. Monahan, Chief of the Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau, and Deputy Attorney General Mark Kurzawa, Deputy Bureau Chief. Lt. David Nolan and Sgt. Fred Weidman conducted and coordinated the investigations for the Division of Criminal Justice, with others, including Detective John Pisano and Special Civil Investigators Jeff Gross and Ronald Rauer.

Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to$150,000. Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000, while fourth-degree charges carry a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a fine of $10,000. The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

On Oct. 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey, resulting in an unprecedented level of damage. Almost immediately, the affected areas were declared federal disaster areas, making residents eligible for FEMA relief. FEMA grants are provided to repair damaged homes and replace personal property. In addition, rental assistance grants are available for impacted homeowners. FEMA allocates up to $31,900 per applicant for federal disasters. To qualify for FEMA relief, applicants must affirm that the damaged property was their primary residence at the time of the storm.

In addition to the FEMA relief funds, HUD allocated $16 billion in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for storm victims on the East Coast. New Jersey received $2.3 billion in CDBG funds for housing-related programs, including $215 million that was allocated for the Homeowner Resettlement Program (RSP) and $1.1 billion that was allocated for the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program. Under RSP, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs is disbursing grants of $10,000 to encourage homeowners affected by Sandy to remain in the nine counties most seriously impacted by the storm: Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union counties. The RREM Program, which is the state’s largest housing recovery program, provides grants to Sandy-impacted homeowners to cover rebuilding costs up to $150,000 that are not funded by insurance, FEMA, SBA loans, or other sources.

The Small Business Administration provides low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and most private nonprofit organizations. SBA disaster loans can be used to repair or replace real estate, personal property, machinery and equipment, and inventory and business assets damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster. Renters and homeowners may borrow up to $40,000 to repair or replace clothing, furniture, cars or appliances damaged or destroyed in the disaster. Homeowners may apply for a loan of up to $200,000 to replace or repair their primary residence to its pre-disaster condition. Secondary homes or vacation properties are not eligible for these loans, but qualified rental properties may be eligible for assistance under the business loan program.

The Disaster Relief Act provided HHS approximately $760 million in funding for Sandy victims. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) received approximately $577 million in Sandy funding through three grant programs, including the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program, which received nearly $475 million to help five states (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maryland). New Jersey received over $226 million for a wide range of social services directly related to the disaster. New Jersey used SSBG funds to develop the Sandy Homeowner/Renter Assistance Program (SHRAP) to assist individuals/families with expenses for housing and other related

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